When asked about it, LaBeouf said that his portrait gallery of thigh ink is just a tribute to people he loves.

"It's love — it's people I love... That's Missy Elliott right there," he said. He then stood to show his tats to the crowd. He's got a pair of matching Missy Elliott tats, one on each leg. The ink is an image of Elliott in the "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" music video. LaBeouf also has tattoos of Biggie, Tupac, Prince, and Drake — presumably, these are also some of the great loves of Shia LaBeouf's life. (One has to wonder whether he has ink of his wife, Mia Goth, somewhere on his body.)

This is a different sentiment from what LaBeouf shared back in September, when we all discovered that these tattoos exist in the first place. The actor told Variety, that, nah, he doesn't love Missy Elliott. Or, at least, he's not in "tattoo" love with Missy Elliott. No, the reason for the tat was much more pedestrian.

He said at the time: “You’re in a tattoo parlor, and...peer pressure.”